The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board announced Wednesday it has invested just under $120 million for a 50 per cent interest in a South Korean investment trust that owns a single asset — an office building in a neighbourhood on the border of Seoul’s Gangnam district.

Yes, that Gangnam district — the one made famous by rapper Psy, whose infectious tune horsey danced its way into your brain when it took over North American airwaves last year.

The office building is still under construction but once it’s finished will be the headquarters for Samsung SDS, a subsidiary of the South Korean conglomerate that deals with information technology.

Two generations ago, the Gangnam district was all farmland, sad-looking houses and drainage ditches. Now, it’s the neighbourhood Seoul’s nouveau-riche call home. The office building is being built in Jamsil, “a growing sub-market” not too far away.

“We see this investment as an attractive entry point into the Korean market,” said Graeme Eadie, senior vice-president and head of real estate investments for the CPPIB, in a release. “As Asia’s fourth largest economy, South Korea is a key market with stable long-term growth prospects.”

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is an investment management organization that invests funds not needed by the CPP to pay out benefits to beneficiaries. As of June 30, 2013, the CPP fund totaled $188.9 billion, with $20.9 billion of real estate investments.

With files from Associated Press

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